


Overnight

by Anonymous



Category: Flashpoint (TV)
Genre: Age Play, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Age Play, Sick Sam, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 03:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18886039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Sam has an ear infection, and it's Ed's first overnight alone with the baby.Followup to Sammy.





	Overnight

It seemed like the head cold Sam had been nursing for the past few days had turned into an ear infection.  Ed hadn’t noticed it while they were working, but Sam had been tugging on his ear like a kid all through the debrief.  Ed knew him well enough by now to tell he was in pain from the set of his jaw, even if Sam wasn’t going to complain.  He was tired though, and he drew raised eyebrows from Jules and Spike when he propped his chin between his forearms on the table fifteen minutes before they wrapped up.

“You see a doctor yet?” Ed asked quietly while they packed their stuff up.

“What?”

“Come on, Samo, it doesn’t take a sniper to spot an earache,” Ed said.  “The clinic’s still open.  I can drive you.”

“I went last night,” Sam mumbled.  “I picked up my antibiotics this morning.  Then, defensively, he stood up straighter and added, “She said it was okay for me to work.  It’s just an ear infection.”

Sam’s response twinged old aches, but Ed knew he’d done that to himself.  Their relationship had come a long way though.

“I didn’t say anything,” Ed said calmly.  If he let himself get upset, Sam would too.  “You did good today.”

Sam nodded and let his posture relax as he zipped up his bag.  It gave Ed time to think his next word through without the younger man’s eyes on him.

“Why don’t you come home with me this weekend, Sammy?” he said.  “I don’t have any plans, and you’re probably not going to feel like doing much.”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked, his hesitation clear.  Wordy and Greg had already left the station.  Wordy was going home to visit his parents this weekend, and Greg was going to a training seminar.  They’d both be out of the city until Monday.  Ed had never been on his own with Sammy for more than an hour or two.

“Yeah, of course,” he said anyways.  “What do you think?”

Ed had his answer as soon as he saw the way Sam chewed his lip, like he wanted to say yes but couldn’t bring himself to say it.  Finally, he mumbled a soft “okay,” and Ed shouldered both of their bags.

“Goodnight, guys,” he called to the remaining member of the team as they left, steering Sam out the door before anyone could question them leaving together.  They didn’t exactly have to be subtle.  The rest of the team would probably just figure Ed was motherhenning Sam because he was sick.

At the station, Ed had been fairly confident he could handle having Sammy by himself for the weekend, but it was hard to feel as certain with the baby screaming at two in the morning.  Sam’s ear was killing him, and he hadn’t slept for more than a couple hours at a time all night.  Ed was pacing the kitchen with Sam propped against his shoulder, rubbing circles against his back.  Sam had already had all the Tylenol he could take until morning, and he was still running a low-grade fever.

“I know, baby,” he murmured.  “You feel really icky, huh?”

Sam made a pitiful noise of agreement, and Ed couldn’t help but think about how far they’d come.  He couldn’t imagine Sam letting his guard down like this a year ago.  Dealing with a baby with an ear infection was much different from a coworker with one, but at least this way Sam was actually letting himself be taken care of.

“Let’s call Baba,” Ed said in a final fit of desperation.  “Maybe he knows some tricks for earaches.”

The phone rang several times before Wordy answered, and the grogginess in his voice was all the reminder Ed needed of what time it was.

“This better be important,” Wordy mumbled.

“Yeah, sorry to wake you up,” Ed said, pinning the phone between his ear and his shoulder so he could keep both hands on Sam.  “Our boy has an ear infection, and I don’t think we’ve slept more than an hour or two tonight.”

“Sam or Sammy?” Wordy asked.

“Sammy,” Ed said.  “Do you really think I’d be calling at two in the morning if it was big Sam?”

“Yeah, okay,” Wordy said.  “How bad?”

“He’s got an antibiotic, but he hasn’t really been on it long enough for it to do anything,” Ed said.  Sam gave up on crying and buried his snotty face in Ed’s shirt.  “He’s running a little bit of a fever, and he’s been crying all night.”

“Did you give him Tylenol?”

“Of course, I gave him Tylenol,” Ed snapped.  “Come on, man.  He can’t take anything else until breakfast.”

“Well get him out of his clothes so he’s cooler and try a warm compress on his ear,” Wordy said.  “Other than that, you’re just going to have to ride it out.”

“I thought you were going to say that,” Ed grumbled.  Wordy laughed.

“Do I need to come home?” he asked, more seriously.  “I can tell them it’s work.  I’d be there in less than two hours.”

“No,” Ed said.  “I’ve got him.  I’ll try the warm compress and call if he gets any worse.  Thanks, Wordy.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Wordy said.  “Hey, Ed?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you,” Wordy said.  “I know it’s your first overnight alone with Sammy, and him being sick isn’t making it any easier.”

Ed thought about when Sam had gotten the flu, a month after they’d started this whole thing.  Sam didn’t have any family in the area, so Wordy had gone by to check on him.  He’d called Ed at midnight to bring Tylenol and Gatorade.  Ed had dropped the supplies off and then sat in his car, wondering if he should stay but too self-conscious to do so.

“Goodnight, Wordy,” Ed said.  “Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem.  Call me tomorrow and let me know how he is.”

Ed promised that he would and then hung up.  He got Sam situated on the couch while he found a washcloth and soaked it in hot water.  Sam shied away at first, still overheated by the fever, but Ed made calming noises until he let him hold it to his ear.  As soon as Sam realized it helped with the pain, he went boneless.

“Let’s get to bed,” Ed said after heating up the cloth a second time.  “Maybe we can get a couple hours of sleep, huh?”

Sam would probably be up again soon, so it made more sense for them to sleep in the same room.  He didn’t protest when Ed carried him into his own room, and Ed settled Sam into the bed quickly.  He was still too hot to want a blanket, so Ed pushed the comforter down to the foot of the bed and pulled the sheet up.

“Sleep tight, Sammy,” Ed said, stretching an arm across Sam so he would feel him moving before he could roll out of the bed. 

They would probably be up again in a couple hours, and the hot washcloth was leaving a damp patch on the pillows.  Ed couldn’t bring himself to care though.  Sam had already fallen back asleep, and he was warm and content under Ed’s arm.  He’d let Ed take care of him tonight, and he hadn’t been shy about letting him know exactly how miserable he was.  He wasn’t afraid that he would be too much and scare Ed off.  Even when he was sick and in pain, Sam knew he wasn’t going anywhere.


End file.
